Trackpad & Keyboard dying and electricity issues?

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Trackpad & Keyboard dying and electricity issues?

Hello!
I am using a 15" MacBook Pro Early 2008 2.4ghz and I am experiencing very frustrating issues.
I was just browsing the web and suddenly the keyboard and trackpad died. I was not able to turn on the backlit lights nor was I able to see the green lightning circle when activation caps lock. Only the power button worked…
So I restarted and almost everything seems to be fine..almost: my trackpad won't recognize any 3 and 4 finger swipes. I already tried reenabling it in System Preferences but still no luck. It will probably work again when I restart the computer again but it still is a problem.

Also, I noticed that my MacBook Pro is giving me electric shocks while resting my hand on it! It sometimes also happens when I just type something.
This is really worrying me and it really hurts. It started happening when I went to an Asian country. Never happened before when I was in Europe. I hope it will stop when I am back but you never know..

Oh and before I forget. It happened before that when I touched the trackpad, it instantly gave me a shock and the keyboard and trackpad were dead...

MacBook Pro 2.4 Ghz 2GB RAM, Mac OS X (10.5.8), early 2008

Posted on Aug 26, 2009 12:53 AM

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Answer 1

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DaddyPaycheck

Level 6

16,037 points

Aug 26, 2009 2:53 AM in response to iMaddin

This is probably all related. You are experiencing a potentially life threatening problem with the grounding and or earth-neutral bond in the facility where you are using the Mac.

Are you using a grounded outlet with a grounded cord?

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Answer 2

iMaddin Author

Level 1

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Aug 26, 2009 5:44 AM in response to DaddyPaycheck

sry I don't understand what you mean with "grounded outlet with a grounded cord". Do you mean those outlets people use in the US?

But thanks for making me think about the outlet and the extension cable. Didn't look very safe. I had 3 things plugged in at the same time in one outlet. The outlets alone don't look very safe by themselves.

Now I have only 2 things plugged in so I hope it will reduce the risk of harming anyone (especially me). So do you think those problems only occur in the country/place where I am staying at (Vietnam)? That my Mac is giving me electric shock has only happened here in Vietnam.
But 'touching the trackpad and get a shock + keyboard and trackpad die'-thing has happened to me in Europe.
Maybe its worth mentioning that I bought my Mac in the US. So in Europe they use different outlets. And in Vietnam they are almost the same as in the US. But I can plug them in though without using any adapters.

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Answer 3

Allan Jones

Level 9

68,606 points

Aug 26, 2009 9:30 AM in response to iMaddin

Carefully inspect your battery. Sometimes trackpad and keyboard problems can be caused by a defective battery that is swollen or otherwise deformed. The deformation puts upward pressure on the underside of the trackpad and takes it down; the keyboard can go with it..

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Answer 4

iMaddin Author

Level 1

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Aug 26, 2009 10:59 AM in response to Allan Jones

True. It could be the battery. Another thing I should mention is that I already have 401 cycles and and barely used it for about 13-14 month. Could that be related too?
So should I just get a new battery?

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Answer 5

Allan Jones

Level 9

68,606 points

Aug 26, 2009 11:26 AM in response to iMaddin

401 cycles is remarkable. However, as long as the battery is not deformed and the health is over ~70 percent and you get modest charge life from it, there is no reason to rush for a new battery. You can use the iStatPro Dashboard widget to monitor battery health:

http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/status/istatpro.html

or the utility Coconut Battery:

http://www.coconut-flavour.com/coconutbattery/

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Answer 6

iMaddin Author

Level 1

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Aug 27, 2009 2:55 AM in response to Allan Jones

I use iStat nano.
http://img394.imageshack.us/img394/4888/screenshot20090827at165.png

26% health 😟 and 401 cycles. That's not normal, is it? I mean..I just used it for a little bit more than a year. Something must be wrong with my battery. The only thing I can do is to get a new battery because I don't have AppleCare...

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Answer 7

iMaddin Author

Level 1

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Aug 28, 2009 11:08 PM in response to iMaddin

Something is definitely wrong with my battery. Have a look at this:
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/1489/screenshot20090829at122.png

It says that I have only 3% of battery left! What should I do?

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